


Target Animal

by NamelessDragon



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Canon Compliant, Gen, Hurt Loki (Marvel), I mean technically but privately I always take things off-canon, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, Implied/Referenced Loki/Grandmaster, Missing Scene, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Stressed Thor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:33:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24633145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelessDragon/pseuds/NamelessDragon
Summary: The bioreactor on the Statesman breaks. Heimdall notes a nearby uninhabited planet that should offer enough water for the passengers to appreciably extend their stores. But there’s dangerously more to it than meets the eye.
Relationships: Brunnhilde | Valkyrie & Loki (Marvel), Loki & Thor (Marvel)
Comments: 37
Kudos: 273





	Target Animal

**Author's Note:**

> A whump prompt from [@bendoverandbiteyourgag,](https://bendoverandbiteyourgag.tumblr.com/) asking for Valkyrie and Loki. (This story has hints of pre-Valki, but not much!) There were a few prompts, but I picked "This would be a lot easier if you'd stop flinching." I was prompted this in DECEMBER. Sorry for half a year of waiting! (And sorry for the other prompters who are waiting even longer!)

The trouble started with a defective bioreactor. 

The Statesman, while large, either hadn’t been designed for such deep-space travel, or enough time had passed since its initial salvage that it had rendered more than a few of the internal systems with some faults. Normally it was something fairly minor - a light fixture darkening, or the heating working a few degrees below its intended setting. Hardly noticeable.

Then one time, the door to Thor’s chambers had refused to open, requiring the combined efforts of both him and Valkyrie to pry it apart. He’d had a nagging concern of Loki’s involvement in his door’s failure to respond, until they’d discovered Loki’s rooms, adjacent to Thor’s, had suffered a similar malfunction. Though Thor still held on to his suspicions for a while, based on the fact that Loki had been lucky enough to be _outside_ of the room when his particular fault had occurred.

Still, it was nothing too catastrophic. At least it hadn’t been the engines or oxygen failing. 

But the bioreactor worked with the Statesman’s channels of water, and that was something of a bit more concern than a simple inconvenience. 

“There’s a few boxes of supplies in the cargo hold,” Heimdall said, arms resting on the table in their meeting space. “We’ve counted enough capsulized water to keep everyone healthy for now.”

“But it’ll run out in a few weeks,” Valkyrie said, idly twirling a knife in her hand. “And the nearest inhabited planet isn’t for months. We can stretch out rations, or risk drinking what’s left. Use alcohol to sterilize the water.”

Thor, who had been gazing at the table and wincing internally at this new obstacle, jerked his head up. “Would that work?”

“No, it would not,” Heimdall answered, voice flat.

Valkyrie shrugged. “Guess I’ll be drinking just the alcohol, then.”

Thor sighed, resisting the urge to rub at his aching face. “Where’s Loki? I want to know what he thinks about all of this.”

“Haven’t seen him,” Valkyrie responded. 

When Thor looked to Heimdall, he received a likewise expression. “I’m afraid I cannot help you. Prince Loki prefers to keep himself cloaked to my eyes.”

“I can ask around,” Valkyrie volunteered. “He has to be skulking around the place somewhere.”

“No, it’s fine,” Thor said, though he clearly did a poor job of convincing them of that. “You said months until the next inhabited planet. What about uninhabited ones?”

Valkyrie narrowed her eyes. “What, you want to just plop down on the nearest gaseous giant and let everyone suffocate?”

“I see a planet nearby,” Heimdall said, head turned to the side. “There are visible bodies of water upon it, along with quite extensive greenery in plant life. Assuming the ship continues its current pace without added dysfunction, it will take us a week off course.”

“And the people?”

Heimdall went quiet for several seconds. “There is a generous amount of fauna,” he said. “But no marked civilization.”

“Doesn’t surprise me,” Valkyrie said. When Thor looked to her for explanation, she set the hilt of her knife against the table with an audible thud. “Asgard’s been around a long time. Odin might have kept the Nine Realms under his protection after he conquered them, but the planets outside of that range probably knew better. Easier to keep themselves from notice if he decided anyone else needed policing.” She gave a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “A lot of refugees fall to Sakaar when they lose their way.”

Thor beat back that now-familiar guilt. He looked to Heimdall. “Have you seen this planet before?”

“Yes,” he said. “It’s never been of particular note. As Valkyrie said, if there are inhabitants, they are not clear to my sight.”

“We’ll stop there,” Thor said. “If someone is around, we’ll make sure we’re not intruding without their permission. And, if not, at the very least we’ll extend our basic supplies until we can find a planet where we can get the ship fixed.”

“This specific task will make for a much longer venture,” Heimdall pointed out. 

Thor tried for a more convincing positive tone, even if internally he was cringing at the idea of adding even a single _day_ to their current way of life. “So it takes us closer to two years to reach Earth rather than eighteen months.”

“If the ship doesn’t eventually just break down on us completely,” Valkyrie said, dousing his optimism in one fell swoop. Thor glared at her. She sighed, sheathing her knife. “I should go look for your brother. Make sure it’s not him that’s wrecking the ship.”

“I don’t think we need to worry about that,” Thor said. “Loki would not do anything that would risk his safety.”

Valkyrie’s face creased into scoffing laughter before smoothing out. “You’re not joking,” she said. “You just had him set off Ragnarok.”

“Because I knew he would be the only person who could get himself out of there alive,” Thor defensively said.

She rolled her eyes towards the ceiling, shaking her head. “By putting him in close proximity to the most powerful Fire Giant in all of existence? No offense to whatever sights Your Majesty possesses, but he’s lucky he’s not a blackened corpse floating through space right now.” She quickly left in a swirl of silver and blue.

Heimdall watched him with an unreadable expression after she was gone.

Thor sighed, the movement heaving through his shoulders. “Loki would have known the paths out of Asgard,” he said, the words not as steady as he would have liked. “Otherwise he would have refused to follow through with the plan at all.” He glanced at Heimdall. “Right?”

“Odin sealed the secret pathway to the Vault after the Frost Giants infiltrated the day of your first coronation,” Heimdall said. “Loki never attempted to break the seal during his time masked as king.”

“But he did escape.”

“If there was a possible exit, it is very likely the prince would have taken it,” Heimdall said. 

“So we are agreed,” Thor said, feeling not one ounce better than he had before their conversation.

\----------

Valkyrie’s search for Loki turned up no immediate results. To be fair, she didn’t exactly try that hard. Mostly she’d just wanted a quick exit before His Majesty started spouting about brotherly feelings, positive or otherwise. What she’d seen of Loki and Thor’s interactions since they’d been thrown together on the mammoth of a ship had alternated between tense and sappy, never quite leaning fully on one way or another.

There was clearly a lot of history there that she was very much not interested in, beyond making sure Loki didn’t make life too much harder for her new king, and by extension their people. They, too, still seemed on edge, but she supposed recently losing your entire livelihood would do that to you. Now more than ever, they needed their leaders for stability and care.

What didn’t help in her expectations of Loki’s good behavior was the obvious clinginess that was starting from Thor’s end. For whatever reason, he was growing more and more obviously and increasingly worried whenever Loki was out of his sight.

She had a feeling that chaining Loki up and depositing him at Thor’s feet would elicit _more_ relief now than it had when they’d been at odds on Sakaar.

And, if it’d been her in Loki’s shoes, she would have been doing the exact same thing he was and turning tail to avoid it. But she knew from experience that turning your back on Thor, even by effectively sending him to his death, didn’t dissuade him in the least from reaching out. It might even make it worse. 

But that was why she figured if he was really serious about finding Loki, he’d just go out and do it himself.

She gave up her own search for the time being and went to see Hulk. 

Another reason it was a good idea to dock at the nearest planet was to give the big guy a chance to let off some proper steam. He was doing well, especially now that he’d fully healed from the nasty bite he’d received from Hela’s pet. She tried to spar with him whenever she noticed he was getting twitchy - none of the other Sakaarians were quite ready to try that level of interaction, having seen what he’d done to the others in the arena. And the grand majority of the Asgardians left were in need of some firm training before they even got halfway decent at combat.

Luckily, Hulk was always happy to see her. That was why she didn’t bother knocking before she opened the doors to his chambers. “Hey, Big Guy, just coming in to see how you’re…” 

Hulk stared at her from where he was standing in the middle of his room, his giant green fists clenched. He looked _startled,_ then confused, snorting as he glared around the room. Like he was looking for something that had just been there a moment ago.

 _Oh,_ she immediately thought. “He’s here, isn’t he,” she said. “ _That’s_ why none of us could find the bastard.”

Hulk’s face went openly panicked, his eyes wide. He tried to rein it back in, about twenty seconds too late. “Hulk not know what you’re talking about,” he said, extremely unconvincingly. 

The door behind Valkyrie suddenly shut with a loud clang, and she knew that it hadn’t been just another glitch in the ship’s workings. She rolled her eyes.

She decided she didn’t care enough to pursue any of that. Loki wouldn’t get far with any nefarious plans if he was trying them out on the Hulk. 

“We’re going to touch down on a planet in about a week,” she explained, for the ears of Hulk and whoever else might be listening in. Because, even if she didn’t care, she knew better than to expect Loki to be so completely obvious about pretending to run out. “Spend a few days gathering water and food.”

Hulk brightened. “Good,” he said, glaring at the windows. “Hulk no like space. Hulk like _space._ ”

“We’ll find you something good to smash,” she said. “For now, how about a training session?”

As they began to exchange blows, she wasn’t at all surprised when the door opened and slammed shut a second time.

\----------

Loki was becoming increasingly certain that he was going to end up stabbing his brother again before long.

No, he thought. That was slightly too strong. He’d proven it was too strong when he’d not only returned to Asgard to assist saving their people, but had followed through on Thor’s mad plan to bring about Ragnarok. And one did not exactly unhesitatingly team up to tear down the entire civilization of their upbringing with someone they hated.

He was unsure if he was telling himself that more in reference to Thor or himself.

They were fine. Possibly, they were fine. Of the chance of there being an immediate conversion into less-than-fine, he was less certain.

Perhaps he was simply in a lingering state of agitation after spending most of the day attempting to gear himself up for a particular discussion with the Hulk, and then having said discussion immediately interrupted, derailed, and cancelled when Valkyrie had thrust her head in to the Hulk’s chambers at precisely the wrong moment. 

Or maybe it was the lingering stress of the object he harbored from Asgard’s Vaults, that even now pulsed and pulled at him from his pocket dimension.

Or maybe because having been through a rather stressful several hours dealing with both of those things, the last thing he’d wanted was Thor barging in to discuss whatever new mishap had befallen the Statesman. Loki was many things, an excellent and intuitive pilot among them. But he was not - nor did he have any interest in being - a mechanic. 

While he was considering what his next step should be, there was a brief knock at his door. Before he could even answer, the door to his chambers opened, and Thor barged in.

Loki felt the irritation within him briefly fluorish. He’d had enchantments set once, a rather impressive layering of them, to keep visitors from strolling in unannounced. But Thor’s reaction to their placement - disapproving, and exasperated - had caused him to remove them. Well, that, and Valkyrie had offered him a very unsubtle threat about what should happen should he consider threatening the safety of the ship.

His look of displeasure went ignored by Thor, who immediately began inspecting the interior of Loki’s rooms. “Are you drinking enough water?”

Loki blinked. That had certainly not been the opening question he’d been expecting. “Am I drinking enough water,” he repeated, slowly, an edge to his voice Thor was sure not to miss.

Thor picked up a glass from a cabinet, pouring himself a generous drink from the bottle that Loki had managed to swindle away from the collection Thor was hoarding in his own chambers. “The bioreactor’s broken and we’re to spend weeks only consuming capsulized water. Which you would have known if you’d joined us at the meeting like I had summoned you to do.”

Loki closed off his expression, forcibly shoving away even the thought of guilt. “I was busy elsewhere,” he said. In all honesty, he would have preferred to join the meeting rather than what he’d planned to do instead. But he was not sure how many opportunities there would be to discuss possible dangers with the Hulk without revealing to the general population just what he had taken from Asgard’s vaults. 

Thor took a gulp of his drink. “Busy with what?”

“If you must know, I have been checking the ship for the remains of anything untoward,” Loki lied. “The Grandmaster may not have completed his plans for every alteration he wished put in place on the ship, but he did do...enough.”

That seemed to satisfy, if somewhat disgust Thor. His face pinched, the movement appeared to bring up the soreness in his still healing face. He raised a hand to prod gently at the skin around his patch. “Did you find anything?”

“No,” Loki said. “Besides some projections that were easy enough to dismantle. Did you come here to do anything else besides steal my wine?”

“This is my wine, and you know it,” Thor said. “So, nothing but a few projections. That’s...good.” Thor kicked idly at the ground, setting his glass aside, an awkward air beginning to hang around the slant of his shoulders. “Loki you...you weren’t worried _you’d_ be on any of those videos, were you?”

Loki’s eyes rounded. “No! _No._ ”

“It’s just that, you did pick the orgy ship-”

“That was a _prank_ , Thor. Obviously I had no intention of letting you escape with it.”

“Or to use it yourself,” Thor said, something odd in his tone.

Loki felt some of his roiling emotions deflate. “I’m here, am I not?”

“Yes,” Thor said, relief overtaking his previous uncertainty. “You are. And Loki...I am grateful.”

Loki stared back, for a moment in danger of being overcome with some niggling warmth. Then he shuttered it, looking towards the window that spanned the wall of his room. “You said something about a planet.”

Thor took hold of the subject change with similar eagerness. “Yes. Heimdall said there’s a planet with plenty of water nearby. It looks drinkable, and it’s not too far out of our way.”

 _It looks drinkable._ Norns. Life after being Asgard’s king and the Grandmaster’s favored friend was certainly going to take some adjustment. 

He sighed, trying to relax his expression and humor Thor without allowing the aspersions to completely overtake his mood. “And what of the people that live on it?”

Thor lowered his gaze, appearing very interested in the glass in his hand. “There are none.”

Loki narrowed his eyes at his brother’s show of unease. “You’re telling me that there’s a planet with an overabundance of water, flora and fauna, and not a single intelligent species inhabiting it.”

Thor folded his arms, giving a game attempt at trying to blank his expression but forgetting that Loki knew the tells of his discomfort after years and years of stoking them. “Valkyrie thinks it’s the proximity to the Nine Realms. Now that we know...more of our true history, it’s possible some of the nearby sentient creatures...fled.”

“You mean they fled rather than risk bloodshed and Asgard’s iron rule,” Loki said. “And no one ever returned to colonize it.”

“It’s just a theory,” Thor said.

“So was it oversight or mercy that such a planet close enough to Asgard was left off the library records?” Loki’s lips stretched in bitterness. “Maybe they didn’t leave. Maybe they were wiped out, and every sign that there had ever been a people was buried beneath the life that sprang forth in the years that followed.”

Thor looked pained. It didn’t give Loki as much satisfaction as it might once have. “Maybe,” Thor agreed.

“Well,” Loki said. “I suppose it’s only right that we...pay our respects, were that the case.”

“Yes,” Thor said, a look of relief filling his expression, if almost immediately tamped down by sadness. “For Asgard.”

“For Asgard,” Loki echoed. The words, though somber, somehow felt less hollow than they might have been.

The silence stretched. Thor continued to grow visibly more awkward, the frown on his face deepening as he shifted from side to side. He did not say anything, but neither did he move to leave. 

Loki curled his hands, the relative ease of their returning brotherhood beginning to sour as he regarded Thor in growing suspicion. “Was there something else?”

There was. Loki could see it, clear as day on Thor’s face. Maybe his brother thought he was hiding it adequately enough, but the more Loki looked, the more he became very sure that something was...off, with Thor. More than the general despair and unbalancing that came with destroying your home, platitudes about its people be damned. 

It irritated him. It also made him - though he refused to completely admit it, even to himself - a little nervous. Though they hadn’t yet properly spoken of it, he and Thor were functionally acting on new ground. The thrill and peril of the battle that had reunited them was over. Now...well, the water issue wasn’t exactly the best of situations, but even were that to grow critical, Asgardians could survive quite a long while before perishing from the lack. 

Which meant that there was now time to _think._ To assess. And Loki knew that every decision he made on this vessel would be weighed against him. Even if Thor claimed brotherhood, even if he spoke of gratitude. He could see it, even now. As the hours and days ticked on, the way his brother regarded him with something growing in his gaze, like a dark stormcloud.

“No,” Thor said. “That was it.”

He left. And Loki found that he did not feel better for his absence.

\----------

The Statesman’s disembarkation went as well as it could have. Most of the surface of the targeted planet was overgrown with gargantuan trees that stretched to the very edges of the bodies of water that covered it. Heimdall had to search for a spot with enough space for them to touch down at all.

“This planet is particularly fertile,” Heimdall said. “I can see a few slightly more open spaces, but we still will be required to clear some of the trees before there is enough space to land.”

Thor considered. “We can skip that part if we just take the Commodore. Keep the Statesman orbit, and I can call you down when we’re finished. Shouldn’t take more than a couple of days.”

“And waste the fuel and manpower?” Valkyrie asked. She gave him an earnest look. “Your Majesty...I think we really should let the people help. Let them get _air._ We’re going to be stuck on this ship for the majority of the months to come if you’re insisting on making the journey to Midgard.”

Thor gazed back to the crowd of gathered Asgardians, who were quietly but eagerly listening in. They’d already spent weeks without a home. Without sun, or plants to cheer them. A people so used to open space that even all aircraft they had designed could be adjusted so the pilot would be exposed. And now they were boxed in.

Thor turned to Heimdall. “You said there was nothing dangerous down there.”

“I said there was nothing visibly dangerous,” Heimdall said. His tone was carefully mediated so Thor couldn’t get a sense one way or another which direction his friend was leaning when it came to his own opinions.

“Loki?” Thor turned to his brother, who blinked at him in some surprise. “What do you think?”

“You’re the king,” Loki said, surprisingly devoid of any sort of contempt. “Though I’m not feeling particularly overjoyed about the fact that our first excursion to a paradise planet supposedly untouched by civilization is going to be anointed by partial deforestation and minimal scouting.”

Loki moved away before Thor could give him the proper requisite glare for such an unhelpful answer. One vote in favor, and two decidedly neutral answers.

That...settled it.

His nonexistent eye was throbbing.

“We’ll land, then,” he decided. “But we’re going to need some volunteers to clear those trees.”

Valkyrie grinned, turning her head to call out. “You heard him, Big Guy.”

There was a series of frantically violent footsteps and the Asgardians all shrieked and threw themselves aside as Hulk raced at full speed towards the open ramp. Valkyrie caught his shoulder as he passed, crouching tight against him as he threw himself from the ship into a freefall with a joyful cry. They quickly disappeared through the canopy below.

Three seconds later, there was a loud crack, and the first of the trees beneath them began to fall.

“Or we can just let Hulk do everything,” Thor said. 

Heimdall gazed at him. “You do not want to follow them down.”

“I will,” Thor said. “In just a moment.” He looked over the crowd of Asgardians, searching for Loki. He inwardly cursed when he didn’t see him. What could he possibly be doing that required more focus than their current task?

Thor glanced at Heimdall, just to be sure. Heimdall got the hint and humored him with a once-over of the ship, but he didn’t even deign to shake his head in answer.

It did not matter. Loki was not the focus right now. Loki was _fine._ Getting the proper supplies quickly and safely to their people was the priority. And Loki had to still be on the ship - even if he’d managed to mask himself, there was no way he would risk such a great...fall.

Thor swallowed. His fingers itched.

He would just make sure he checked in with Loki one more time as everyone disembarked.

\----------

Valkyrie panted gratefully as she leaned up against a trunk and watched the Hulk systematically grip into the downed trees one by one and throw them as far as he could to clear enough space for the Statesman to land. She’d been going a little stir-crazy, too, as it had turned out. Her Dragonfang had been lost in the battle with Hela, so she’d had to rely on what knives she had left - not the best for cutting down trees, but with enough vigor and effort she’d managed to nearly keep up with the Hulk, until he’d seen what she was doing and had frantically sped up in his desire to beat her. There hadn’t been much to it after that but to sit back and watch Hulk enjoy himself.

When the last of the great trees was crashing into the water, Hulk turned back to her with a look of satisfaction on his face. “Hulk done.”

“That should be plenty of room for them to fit, as long as Korg doesn’t flub up parking the damn thing,” she said. “This planet doesn’t look half bad. You want to go have a look around?”

Hulk grunted, and started to follow her. They hadn’t made it very far when his leg suddenly sank into the ground and he gave a roar of surprise. 

Valkyrie whirled in readiness as he yanked his foot up from the soil and proceeded to punch downwards, sending dirt flying in all directions. She took a step back, blinking in irritation through the grit. She called out, though it did nothing - she’d known it would do nothing, she’d seen Hulk’s moods before. She just let him get it out of his system, watching as after a minute he finally just thrust his fist deep into the earth and visibly strained to pull. Whatever he’d grabbed wasn’t moving, and the rage in his face just grew all the more sharper as he screamed at the ground like it had personally insulted him.

There was a rush of air, and Thor landed next to her. “I thought you were finished,” he said.

“We were,” she said. “Hulk’s going to need a minute.”

“This isn’t going to take a minute,” Thor said. “He can rage for hours when he gets like this.”

He moved towards the Hulk, because of course he did. Then he started the less than tactful strategy of shouting for the Hulk’s attention. When that didn’t work, he grew progressively more frustrated. She wasn’t surprised when he reached the point that he thought physical intervention was going to help him - and even less surprised when that decision sent him flying through the trees, taking out another several in his wild propulsion. 

Hulk turned and roared in his direction, then seemed to come back to his senses, staring from the ground back to the trail of destruction Thor’s body had left.

There was a crunching noise as Thor came staggering back, yanking off a branch that had snagged beneath his armor. “I knew that would work,” he said.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, stepping forward to help calm Hulk as he seethed at the ground. She couldn’t see much of what had pissed him off - just a...flower? Large, diameter almost as wide as the Hulk himself. Its petals were of a stunning orange, and they curled upwards. But it hadn’t been above ground. The center of it was smashed beyond recognition, a pulpy goop seeping from it. 

“Flower sting,” Hulk said. 

She checked the bottom of his foot and his hand, but there were no breaks in the skin. “Not bad enough to really hurt you,” she said.

“Hulk strong,” Hulk said. 

“Yeah, and you destroyed it. We should probably give wrecking the plant life a break, at least for a moment.”

Hulk made a noise of disappointment, staring in longing at the trees. 

“Let’s see if we can find ourselves anything to eat,” Valkyrie said, hoping to distract him. She looked at Thor. “We’ll do a perimeter check while we’re out. Make sure there isn’t anything worse than giant buried flowers.”

Still sulky, Hulk shrugged. But he followed her when she started to walk into the trees.

\----------

Loki snuck away while Thor and Valkyrie were distracted by the Hulk’s tantrum.

It wasn’t his proudest moment, but the chance to get far from the crowding of bodies and uncertain gazes was not one he was going to squander. And he was as tired of stale air and close metal walls as any of them were. He intended to make use of as much of their stay here as he could, especially so he could fully formulate his own opinion on just how likely it was that they would be better off keeping themselves here. No one had spoken such considerations around him, but he knew that if they could find a viable food source, the subject would almost certainly come up.

The planet seemed nice enough. The weather was agreeable: sun shining warmly, breeze light and crisp, and overarching trees that afforded plentiful shade. It reminded him a bit of Vanaheim, which in turn reminded him of Hogun, which in turn made him very aware of the fact that Heimdall had informed them not long ago that all of the Warriors Three had violently perished at Hela’s hands. 

They’d been among the first to die on Asgard. And if Loki had not called for them to open the Bifrost...

He remembered that when Heimdall had given them the somber news, Thor’s gaze had fallen on him, thick like a stormcloud. There hadn’t been words between them in that moment, but there didn’t need to be. 

And even afterwards, Thor hadn’t said anything, hadn’t _acted_ like he’d blamed Loki. But that look had been undeniable. 

This aftermath of their reconciliation made Loki’s skin itch in that fine line between longing and abhorrence. Thor interacted with him easily enough, and other than Valkyrie and Hulk, no one had been outwardly furious with him since he’d arrived with the Statesman and proclaimed himself a hero. 

But there were no heroics needed, now. And in the absence, he could feel that age old status quo struggling to get its grips into him again. There was no benefit of the doubt to be had when it came to his actions. Not when his list of crimes was so long and comprehensive. So he had to take extra care, at least until things settled. Especially considering the item he’d taken from Asgard’s Vault. 

He’d broach that subject eventually. Whenever it was that Thor stopped breathing down his neck. Or when he could shake the reminder of that _glare._

Never mind. He was never going to broach that subject. 

Not unless it became absolutely necessary.

It for sure wasn’t necessary, now. And because he’d managed to successfully avoid Thor, there were no overhanging orders or duties for him to be required to adhere to while the Statesman was docked.

He was currently free to do what he thought best. And that was to see if this abandoned planet had anything halfway useful to provide them besides lumber and leaves.

\----------

Loki wasn’t on the ship.

Heimdall hadn’t seen him. No one had seen him in all the hours that they had been landed. Which meant he was hiding somewhere on board.

Or he had already run off. 

“Should really think about getting a leash for him,” Valkyrie told him as he fumed helplessly, his eye searching through the trees. “Hey. You said he wouldn’t risk himself.”

“And you argued the opposite,” Thor pointed out.

Valkyrie grimaced. “Yeah, but...I don’t think this place would be it. Hulk ran us out miles from here. It’s just a dull forest.”

“Korg,” Thor called. 

“Yeah, boss?”

“Will you check if there are any signs of someone recently boarding the Commodore?”

“Oh, uh. Sure.” As they wandered back to the ship, he heard Korg whisper, “His ghost brother’s disappeared into thin air again.”

Valkyrie was blatantly unconcerned. She kept glancing at Thor as if he was being unreasonable. “We should get back to gathering,” she said, which confirmed the latter fact. “We’re only about a quarter through enough for our stores. If he doesn’t come back by nightfall, we can send Hulk after him.”

Hulk jerked his head up in shock. Then an anticipatory grin fell over his face.

“Not for smashing,” Thor said, even if throttling Loki didn’t sound _entirely_ unappealing at the moment, even to him.

Hulk’s face fell. He raised his hand and made a pinching motion with the pad of his thumb and the neighboring finger, a mere inch of separation between them. “This much smashing.”

“That sounds like a good compromise,” Valkyrie said, turning her gaze on Thor in good-humored brightness. When he didn’t respond, she sighed and put her hand on his arm. A low blow, using the friendliness he’d sought from her on Sakaar to manipulate him. “Come on, Your Majesty. We don’t exactly need his help here, anyway. If he’d really wanted to, he would have just left after Asgard was destroyed.”

 _He can change his mind,_ Thor wanted to say. _Why else would he be so insistent on avoiding me at every turn?_

Thor reluctantly nodded, giving one last look over the trees, as if that alone could make Loki appear. “All right,” he said. “But as soon as he shows his face, I want to talk to him.”

\----------

_Just a few minutes more of walking,_ Loki thought, _and then I will turn back._

He’d told himself some variation of that about five times since venturing away from the ship. He’d wanted to get away - he hadn’t realized how _dearly_ he’d wanted to until he was already a mile out and the silence descended like a comforting blanket. What was more, he could feel something odd beneath the ground. A thread of power that hadn’t been near their landing site. 

It was subtle. If Loki had not been so in tune with his magic, he might have not even noticed it. As it was, the fact of that subtlety strengthened his curiosity.

He followed the trail. As his journey extended, the sun rose higher into the sky. He was glad to note that the heat did not rise to any especially cloying levels. His hike took him through streams and over rocks, always with a glance behind him to note the position and distance of the Statesman. He was fairly sure Thor would not leave without him, but it was better to check. If he grew too concerned he could always remove the barriers to Heimdall’s sight, or send up a signal flare for added visibility.

Eventually, the feeling of power beneath the ground began to exponentially condense. He slowed his steps into a more careful tread as what had before been a thin trail of sensation became something much more robust.

The planet was abandoned. But there was something here, beneath the ground. A source of great power. 

He went still. It felt...not unlike the Infinity Stones he’d come into contact with so far. All three had radiated energy so great that they demanded his attention. He reached out with his magic, felt the heady draw of power recognizing power, filling a desire to intertwine and grow greater together.

If this planet had truly been lost since Odin’s early reign, it was possible that one of the stones could have been buried here without notice. 

He almost summoned the Tesseract. Almost. If there _was_ an Infinity Stone located somewhere on this planet, obvious enough that he could sense it without seeing it, then bringing a second one to bear would be a great risk of signalling those who searched for them. 

He could return to tell Thor. But time was of the essence, and it had taken him miles to reach his current location. It would take time to get back, and more time to explain.

It felt like it was close. He moved forward.

\----------

Thor, Valkyrie could tell, was beginning to lose it. He’d managed to keep a handle on things for a couple of hours, almost even relaxing as he’d hauled water and talked with the rest of the Asgard’s people. But in the last ten minutes could see the scowl returning to his face and spreading fast, with no signs of stopping.

It wasn’t yet nightfall - the sun for this planet seemed to move a lot slower than what they were used to. But it meant that as the time stretched, even she was beginning to feel irritation at Loki’s absence, if only because Thor was beginning to annoy her almost as much. 

Her patience for royalty had certainly gone to piss in her years on Sakaar. 

Either way, time was going to get wasted, whether because their king was too busy fretting to focus, or because they lost the manpower to searching for the missing second prince. 

The people didn’t particularly care, but she could see them starting to get worried as Thor’s temper took a sharp downturn. It looked like they were worried _for_ him rather than because of him, but that still didn’t sit right with her.

It was another five minutes before Thor suddenly dropped the last canister of water. “Right,” he said. “I’m going to go looking for him. He’s not anywhere on the ship, which means he’s somewhere out there. And there’s no good reason that he would have been gone this long.”

She breathed out. “Yeah,” she said. “At this point, I might have to agree with you.”

“Heimdall,” Thor said. “Keep an eye on our people. We should be back before nightfall.”

\----------

Loki had found it. In a clearing so small that the tree cover would have rendered it invisible from above, the power he’d been tracking reached an intense peak.

Like the rest of the planet, it looked untouched. But beneath the ground hummed something mighty.

It _was_ an Infinity Stone. Loki was almost certain. 

Perhaps gifting it to Thor would rid him of some of that itch that plagued his skin whenever his brother laid eyes on him. Or maybe it would make it worse, knowing that the target on their backs had widened immeasurably in scope. 

But if Asgard was in possession of _two_ stones...it could only help them defend themselves against whatever threats were to come their way.

He gazed around at the clearing, to the sky above. The ground was untrodden, save for the light steps he’d taken to enter the area. No one had been here recently, and no one was approaching. Whatever he did next would go unseen. 

He swiftly knelt, examining the ground. Then he summoned his magic for a careful prod at the energies he could feel beneath the surface.

The soil shifted.

There was a sound like a whip, and something bright and coiling struck out from the dirt, constricting against Loki’s throat and sending a shock of agony through him as spikes dug harshly into his flesh. Panicked instinct sparked and he reached for a knife to cut himself free, but before he could summon it he felt a wrenching _pull_ in his blood and nerves as his magic was redirected in a blinding bend back up towards his throat. His resulting cry was strangled as he started to choke. He struggled to make sense of what was happening so he could fix it, but the more he fought the faster he felt his magic directed off course, like a thousand leeches at his neck that gorged themselves deeper and deeper. 

He retched, throat burning, and wrapped his hands about the tether, straining to pull it from the ground. The spines at his neck only pierced him tighter, he could not get air, his voice when he tried to shout for help was locked in a spasm in his lungs. Terror pounded through him, his thoughts darting like panicked rats, his vision blurred and then he saw it - his magic being drained down through the tube at his throat, a green pulse that disappeared into the dirt. His limbs were beset with a roaring ache and blood was pouring from his neck and he could not _breathe_ , he was going to die alone on a Norns-forsaken planet in the middle of nowhere, they might not even find his remains-

His struggles had already begun to wane, his body only continuing to tug on instinct as it became nothing but a source of flared nerve endings and bursting lungs and limbs that felt weighed down by boulders. The world began to fade, the treetops going grey as the last of the frantic pleas in his thoughts began to fade.

The garrote loosened. 

All at once air was available and he inhaled it so desperately that it felt like it would choke him all over again as it plunged through his swollen throat. The snare was still tight about his neck, spines like fangs keeping it hooked in place around his flesh. His magic still drained, but in a steady trickle rather than a roaring wave.

He reached towards the tether at the front, hands carefully grasping. The instant he put any pressure into attempting to reach for his magic he felt the trap clamp tighter to his throat, like a wolf’s jaws biting down to still its thrashing prey. His panic drummed in his chest but he forced himself to let go, and the cruel noose again stopped trying to kill him.

 _Calm,_ he thought. _Trying to use your magic only makes it work faster._ He carefully pushed himself up onto an arm, gathering his legs beneath him. The snare latched into the ground and did not give him enough leeway to rise higher than his knees. 

It had been a trap. The power that had lured him to this area still emanated from the ground, but if there was an Infinity Stone to be found, it was well guarded.

The tether at his throat came from somewhere beneath him. It hummed with the same power he’d sensed on his way here. A brush of his hands over the surface of the dirt revealed the end of something colored a bright orange. He stared down at it, trying to gauge where the workings were, checking for a weak point. He was being bled dry of his power - the question was how, and for what purpose? There had to be some way to stop it. He had to stop it.

His throat was tightening again, and this time not from the snare. He sat back on his heels and struggled to take in calming breaths. 

“So,” he said, wincing at the rasping edge to his voice. He still felt better hearing his own thoughts out loud than the interminable silence. “What happens if I pull on the leash?”

He worked it through carefully, step by step. His hands neared the tube - nothing. He slowly took it into his palms, curling his fingers about it. Air remained available.

He took a deep breath, clamped his eyes shut, and _wrenched_. The garrote pulled viciously tight.

When he could think again, he was flat on his back, taking in shallow breaths. His neck felt peeled of its flesh, fresh rivulets coursing down from the worsened damage. His fingers were buried in the dirt, having grasped at the closest thing they could find.

His voice was a croak. “No magic,” he deduced. “And...no pulling.”

He carefully rose with a hiss, staring in growing hatred at the visible evidence of his magic’s depletion. He could feel the loss down to his bones, aching in his limbs.

It couldn’t be natural, he thought. As alien as it was, and as well camouflaged as it was, the materials had to be crafted by some sort of intelligent life. He began to wonder if there was even an Infinity Stone to be found here at all.

It wasn’t a comforting thought.

Swallowing felt like shards of glass raking down his throat. He moved himself into a crouch, carefully keeping the tether lax, and began to dig.

\----------

The thing about Heimdall, Valkyrie thought, was that he had no real sense for tracking. It made sense - hardly a reason to need to find signs of your quarry if you could usually just _see_ them wherever they were in an instant. Which was beneficial, until someone figured out how to hide themselves even from the all-seeing. Especially if someone had dedicated the majority of their lives to hiding themselves from the all-seeing.

But she’d spent years and years hunting people, as both a high ranking Valkyrie and as a nameless scrapper. Loki was good, but this planet was so emptied of ground-trodding life that when she _did_ catch a sign, a patch of grass with bending blades some ways out, she knew it had to be him. 

Thor and Hulk had gone off in their own directions, so they could cover more ground. “Heimdall,” she called. “Keep your eyes on me. I think I know where he’s gone.”

She moved at a jogging pace, stopping every so often to check for details in the ground or foliage. Loki was clearly used to staying hidden, and managed to make his way over the paths leaving marks that none but the most trained eye would be able to discern. She let herself feel a bit smug about that. She wondered if he was going to give her any difficulty about returning to the others - if he did, well, she knew from experience that giving him a good punch made him a lot easier to manage. 

She covered ground in good time, but even as long as the day was it was getting to the point that the sun was going to have passed beneath the horizon before she got back. 

The signs of his travel got harder to read the more distance she covered. As if he’d gotten more and more cautious the farther out he’d moved. Which didn’t make sense, unless he was expecting some kind of threat. She felt worry finally start to worm its way in, but it only made her angrier. 

What the hell had he been thinking, coming all the way out here? Was his death wish _that_ idiotic? Was he intending on betraying them after all?

She weighed whether or not to call out to him. The steps she did find indicated that he’d been walking at a normal pace, so she knew she had to be overtaking him soon at the rate she was going. He was probably close enough to hear her, but if he decided to avoid her, that could add more frustration to her search. 

She was beginning to think that maybe Thor had a point in being so damn paranoid about his brother disappearing. Which made her even more annoyingly feel guilty that she’d managed to convince him not to search earlier. 

That was a small part. The bigger part of her was feeling more and more enraptured by the idea of just pummeling Loki into the ground whether he was going to cooperate with her on coming back or not.

After miles and miles of travel, the trees still all looked the same. But eventually, there was a break in them, and a small circle of open ground visible.

It was empty. That was, until she got within a certain distance of it, and the air above it shimmered, like frosted glass being pulled aside.

And there was Loki. Alive, and sitting in a patch of sloping dirt, with another one of those gigantic orange flowers Hulk had pulverized spread open in front of him, half unburied.

“There you are, you fuck,” she hissed, and then shouted his name. 

He didn’t respond - didn’t so much as twitch at her voice. She frowned, and moved a few more steps forward for a better look.

He was doing something. She scowled and squinted - his hands were shoveling dirt, like he was trying to dig up the root system of the whole damn plant. There was an odd hunch to his back, like a guilty child trying something he knew was going to get him walloped.

She felt her fury rise as she stomped towards him, not bothering to mask her steps. “If you wanted a reason for me to beat the shit out of you, you could have just asked instead of inconveniencing the whole of Asgard.”

He looked up when she was just a dozen paces away, and her eyes widened as she saw the ruin that had become of his neck, the snare digging into his skin.

“Shit,” she breathed, and rushed towards him.

He raised his hands, his lips moving but no sound came out, and she had half a second to think that was odd when the world _shifted_ with a buzzing noise.

“-and now you’ve crossed the barrier.” Loki dropped his hands in casual exasperation, as if his front wasn’t currently painted with his own blood. “Of all the times you decided not to listen to me. No, _no don’t touch that_!”

She’d been intending to reach out and yank free whatever had him in its grips, but hesitated at his desperate shout.

He shut his eyes, fists clenched. His normally smooth voice was marred by a harsh rasp. “Before you accidentally kill me by rushing to my rescue, perhaps you could take a moment and allow me to explain what’s happening.”

“You’re caught in some kind of trap,” she said, eyeing the flower on the ground. It looked even bigger than the one Hulk had destroyed earlier. 

“Not just caught,” Loki said. He swallowed, then winced. “It’s sapping me of my magic.” He indicated the lights running down from the front of his throat. “And the intensity of the drain is proportional to my utilization of it. Also, when I try to fight my way free, or simply pull beyond what it allows, or come into any contact with any part of the flower, I am summarily strangled until I stop.”

She stared at his neck, all but mangled beneath the snare. “How long have you been stuck here?”

“I don’t actually know,” he said, shaking some of the dirt from his hands. “Hours. Hard to tell, when so much as breathing wrong sets off the garrote. I’ve blacked out once or twice.”

She exhaled as one mystery was solved. “You weren’t running.”

“ _Running…?_ ” His brow furrowed in incredulity. “Are you telling me that everyone assumes the reason I have been absent is that I made my escape and abandoned Asgard?”

She shrugged. “Thor definitely does.” 

Loki twitched, an angry sheen overtaking his eyes before he went back to clawing at the dirt. “Well, whatever the true answer to that, I am obviously here. Stuck. And now with the addition of marvelous company.”

What he meant finally sunk in. She looked around them, and then carefully moved back the way she came. An invisible wall sent static crawling along her flesh as she came into contact with it. It didn’t budge when she pounded her hands against it, and when she tried to use her knife it just rebounded harmlessly from its surface.

She turned back to Loki, eyes narrow. He’d watched her actions in wariness, then slumped in relief. 

“I’d been wondering if tampering with the field would set it off,” he said his hand rubbing nervously at his collarbone.

“Heimdall was watching me,” she said. “He’ll know where I am.”

Loki shook his head. “He should have known where _I_ was hours ago. All of my workings to guard my visibility from him failed as soon as I was attacked.”

She paused, remembering how she hadn’t been able to hear anything from him before she’d crossed into the clearing. “Shit,” she said again, using her knife to stab at the wall with even more strength. There was no give. She tried again.

“I can’t help but notice you are a great deal angrier than you were a moment ago,” Loki said dryly over the sounds of her grunting.

She splayed her hand against the barrier to see if she could sense any damage to it. “There’s something in this barrier that blocks us from view,” she said. “The clearing looked empty when I came upon it. I didn’t see you at all until I was close enough.” She stabbed again, harder, strong enough that she felt it all the way up her forearm and through to her shoulder. “I thought it was just you weaving your magic.”

Loki looked surprised, then a bit panicked. “So we are stuck here, and no one can see or hear us, and you just happened upon me miles out from the landing site by pure luck.”

“Not luck, I was tracking you,” she said. “They’ll know something’s wrong when I don’t return. They’ll send out a search party.”

“And then additional Asgardians will find themselves trapped along with us. If this is even the only snare located on this planet, which I find unlikely.”

She remembered Hulk complaining of the stinging flower. “Why did it grab _you_? It stung Hulk, but he was able to crush it to a pulp. It didn’t send out anything like a murderous spiked noose.”

He tightened his lips. “If I had to guess, I would say it specifically targets those who are especially attuned to magic. I felt something in the ground as I made my way here. It was drawing me in.” 

“But you don’t know the reason it was doing that.”

“There’s only theories, and I would very much like to think on those _after_ I have been released from this death trap.”

She leaned back against the barrier. “It might be hiding us from sight, but it couldn’t have a range of effect that large. I told Heimdall to keep an eye on me the entire time he was tracking me. Even if I disappeared from his sight at some point, he should know the general area where that happened.”

“I hope you are right,” Loki said. He gestured to her. “In the meantime, make yourself useful.”

“That’s a laugh,” she said. “You talking about _useful_ when you shirked any duty to go running off into the woods.”

“It felt like an Infinity Stone,” Loki said. “I would have been remiss if I’d just left it lying around.”

“It’s a flower,” she said. 

“It’s clearly a lot more than that,” he shot back. “And it’s going to be my grave if you do not assist me as soon as possible and follow my instructions.”

“Fine,” she said. At his look of surprise, she shrugged. “If I let you die, Thor would be even more of a bear to deal with.”

Loki’s lips twitched. “Let’s not inconvenience you,” he said.

\----------

Thor was rushing through the forest, and only growing angrier with every additional length of ground he covered. There was a peculiar pounding to his heart that had nothing to do with the physical activity.

And he had _still_ not found any sign of Loki. He should have known better than to take his eye off of him.

He muttered irritably to himself as he carefully leapt over branches and continued to scour the forest in leaping gallops. “‘Are you Thor, God of Hammers?’ No, but having the ability to _fly_ would be extremely convenient right now.”

There was a gentle prod at his mind, and he slowed to a stop, panting. He shut his eye, and opened his thoughts to Heimdall’s communication. “What is it?”

“Valkyrie has disappeared from my sight,” Heimdall said, his concern thick on his voice. “She journeyed a few miles to the west of your current position before fading.”

“What?” Thor instinctively turned to look through the trees like that would provide any answers. “She was attacked?”

“I do not know. But she indicated she had seen signs of Loki not long before her disappearance.”

“So something _did_ happen to him,” Thor said. There was no time to waste. “Heimdall, guide me to the place you last saw her.”

\-----------

They were getting nowhere. Despite their agreement to work as a team, the fire at Loki’s neck made him sharp, and Valkyrie was already sharp towards him at the best of times. With every failure in releasing him, their tempers skyrocketed, until they were more arguing than making any progress in testing the snare.

And her suggestions just grew more and more idiotic. “Can’t you - I don’t know - stop producing your magic? If that’s what it wants, don’t give it a source.”

Loki snarled in aggravation through his swollen throat. “Can you stop your heart from pumping blood through your veins?”

Her anger rose in kind. “Clearly no more than you can stop being an ass for two seconds to see that I’m trying to _help_.”

“Yes, help away - and I’ll simply continue to slowly die while you assume I haven’t already thought of every obvious solution.” He put his hands in the ground again, digging - because what else could he do? He carefully avoided grazing any part of the flower. “Do me a favor and give me warning when you decide to try beating me to get your way.”

She did look like she was moments away from hitting him. But she only raised her eyebrows. “ _You’re_ the one who started that fight on Sakaar. I just finished it.”

“Your actions while serving the Grandmaster were nothing but noble, I am sure.”

“Oh, is _that_ where you want the conversation to head? I was around, you know. I could see the two of you from my ship during the fights. And after.”

Loki felt the blood drain from his face. His hands gave a spasmodic clench, earth crumbling between his fingers.

She shrugged. “Sometimes it was easier to just spend the night there if I drank enough. You know, I did do a lot of things to get by on Sakaar. But I kept my boundaries up. I didn’t fall for any of the Grandmaster’s seduction techniques.”

Despite the blood loss, there was apparently still enough of it left in his body to bring heat back to his face in a rapid flush. “I did not _fall for_ -” He cut himself off, worried that his anger would activate the trap.

“What?” Valkyrie watched him expectantly. “You’re not telling me you honestly liked him?”

He swallowed through his burning throat. “Are we simply going to ignore the fact that I am _still trapped?_ ”

“You’re not concerned with it enough to not piss me off,” Valkyrie said. 

“Consider my priorities shifted,” Loki said, wanting very much for the subject to be discarded. He loathed being tethered. He even more loathed it when used in conjunction with any kind of interrogation. There was a bright stirring of panic in his chest that wanted to reclaim him, and he knew allowing it to do so would only result in his death.

She seemed taken aback by his admission. He took the blow to his pride, making eye contact with her even as he kept his expression free from any indication of his emotions. It would be worth it to not slowly die, and Valkyrie was not Thor. She wouldn’t go after the subject like a hound with a bone. 

“Fine,” she said, her voice still tight with anger. “What’s our next move, Your Highness?”

“I suppose we might try the knife,” he said, already bracing himself. He wiped the dirt from his hands, bringing his fingers up to press into the sticky mess of tacky blood beneath the garrote. “Use as much force as you can.”

She nodded, stepping over to him. He gazed up at her in wariness, breathing evenly to gather his strength. He still tensed tight as a bowstring as she carefully brought the knife to the tether’s underside, her other hand wrapping about its length. 

“Three,” she said, her voice full of steady calm. “Two.”

She yanked her arm upwards, and Loki arched with a strangled cry as his magic _ripped_ from him, blasting outwards and sending her flying back as the trap drew viciously tight around his neck. 

He’d been ready this time. He let it bear him to the ground, trying to keep his wits at the return of the sensation of suffocation as his heart thumped in his ears and spots danced before his eyes. He still could not help but writhe, hands gripping uselessly at nothing, legs shifting with equal lack of benefit. His magic raced out of him in a frightening wave, copper on his tongue as he bit into his cheek, his sounds of pain trapped in his chest.

When the garrote loosened, he spent several seconds trying to recover. As soon as he felt like movement would not cause him to black out, he laboriously rolled onto his side, spitting a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva into the dirt.

He pressed his palms into the ground and righted himself, widening his knees to stabilize his position. Valkyrie was watching him, dirtied but unhurt from her encounter with the trap’s deflection. 

He gave himself a few more moments to just breathe. Then he clenched his jaw. “Try again,” he said, nearly flinching from the hoarseness of his own words.

“We should wait,” Valkyrie said, an oddness to her tone. 

Loki’s voice broke over the strain of trying to pass it through his throat. “Wait for _what?_ ”

“Someone will come to us.”

He hissed in disbelief. “And what guarantees do we have for your astonishingly positive prediction?”

“I’m not helping you kill yourself,” she said, voice hard. 

His panic pulsed in his chest. He could not make his wrecked voice rise any higher than a whisper. “I am not trying to kill myself.”

“Look,” she said. “There’s not even a scratch in the tether. We’re not getting anywhere working it from that angle.” She sheathed her knife in an agitated motion. “You should rest. Conserve your energy while I work the ground. I can cover more of the available space and we’ll run less of the risk of you setting it off again if you just stay still.”

He clenched his hands, wanting to argue. But she was right, and he was growing increasingly worried that he was losing the fortitude to combat the agony not only in his throat, but that which was spreading through his very core as his body grew starved for its own magic. His urge to have her keep cutting at the cord had been borne of some primal instinct worming its way to overtake his higher functions. 

Still, he could not help but protest. “Rest does not mean I will not weaken.”

“Then keep thinking,” she said. “And keep an eye out for anyone nearby. But let me be the muscle.”

She didn’t wait for him to answer, just went to work on carefully excavating the area. 

Loki watched her, his breaths wheezing from his throat, then sent a glance upwards.

The sun was setting. They had no tools or space to make a fire. Soon, they would be trapped in the dark.

He forced himself to be still. The growing exhaustion made it easier than he would have liked.

\----------

Valkyrie had made several sizable pits as dusk fell, careful to skirt the edges of the flower’s giant petals. Her armor was caked with earth, and the piles she’d formed were growing taller and taller. She was sure now that it was bigger than the one Hulk had uncovered.

The barrier around them went deep into the earth. She hadn’t found a break in it, yet - if there even was one. 

Loki knelt quietly while she worked. He didn’t look very relaxed, and every time she nearly touched the flower, he flinched. She decided it would be unfair to be annoyed with him for his lack of faith in her abilities considering what he’d suffered so far. 

Silence, however, was clearly not his forte. “I did not like him,” he said, a dull edge to his voice.

She’d thought the quiet was a bit too good to last. “Who?”

“The Grandmaster.”

“All right,” she said, not sure what he expected her to respond with. She kept digging.

“He was...convenient.”

She took a deep breath, then carefully repositioned herself without touching the petals to get at a different angle. “You do a lot of things out of convenience, don’t you?”

He glared at her, but was too exhausted to sustain his anger for long. “I was intentionally padding my position in his inner circle. The eventual plan was to overthrow him.”

She responded sarcastically. “Seemed like that was going good, what with the execution threats. And the only overthrowing I saw, was, well…”

Loki tightened his lips, a muscle in jumping in his cheek. His gaze lowered.

Valkyrie shook her head. She didn’t feel much allegiance to Asgard’s prince, but he had made a hard turn from trying to kill them all just recently, and now was being forcibly bled of his magic. Maybe she could give him a bit of a break. “Look, honestly? I don’t care. You don’t have to justify yourself to me. I just said those things because I wasn’t going to give you full reign with the cheap potshots without saying anything.”

He cautiously looked up at her again. He really was a fucking mess - even the setting sun wasn’t casting much warmth over his ghastly pallor. And his neck...she’d seen contenders come out dead from the arena fights looking a lot more pristine than he was now. 

“Now stop distracting me from getting you out of that thing,” she said, and went back to her task with renewed urgency.

The temperature steadily dropped as the night went on. At some point Loki lowered himself into a more relaxed pose on his back upon the ground, legs stretched out and eyes staring upwards, his hands folded over his chest. He did keep quiet this time, but she still felt like she could almost see his thoughts desperately whirling in his eyes.

The green glow travelling through the tube running from his neck had thinned. So either her plan of having him relax to prevent an increased drain was working, or he was getting low on what reserves he had. She knew that asking him which it was wouldn’t change things. 

They had to have been stuck together for hours. She intermittently poked her head out of whatever hole she was digging to check the surroundings for any signs of search parties and note if Loki was still breathing. He was taking the damage a lot better than she would have expected, but that just worried her more that he’d hit his limit before she even noticed.

He was clearly well experienced in hiding physical pain. 

So it was probably ironic that not ten minutes after she thought that came the point when Loki completely _freaked out_.

There’d been no one warning: one moment, he’d been resting, his eyes shut - the next, he’d lurched upright and was struggling to get his feet beneath him, teeth bared as he strained to get his fingers under the snare. Bad enough, but then the green of his magic flared to life, shooting down the tube faster and faster.

“Loki!” She threw herself towards him, grabbing at his shoulders. Her frustration was a fire burning in her chest - all her instincts to fight and punch and stab, useless. 

A grating gasp wrenched from his throat - and he wasn’t just being drained now but _choking_ , boots scrabbling in the dirt, chest moving in fruitless spasms. She tried to steady him and he recoiled from her touch, falling onto his side. His magic was pouring down in a torrent, his wide eyes rolling, his body thrashing like a fish on a line. 

She tried to pin him, hands on his chest, and got a knee to her side for her trouble. She came back to him, moving more carefully, straddling his legs, grabbing his wrists and pinning them against the ground as he arched beneath her.

“Don’t fight it,” she said, heart pounding as she stared at his bloodless face. “You said it’ll only kill you faster the more you try - come _on_ , you’re supposed to be the smart one.”

His eyes finally focused on her, his eyebrows pulling together, his terror plain. His tongue had pressed into his lower lip, the sounds coming from his throat weakening. 

Then, miraculously, a reedy breath made it through his throat. His chest expanded, and then flattened as he exhaled. It was slow, and his fear was still shining in his eyes, but he’d gone limp beneath her, only focusing on carefully taking in air.

All at once, the snare let up its stranglehold. Loki coughed, curling upwards until Valkyrie moved off of him to give him room. He pushed himself closer to the center of the trap, taking some of the strain off his neck. His entire body went slack, sweat beading on his brow as he sucked in breaths that seemed far too shallow.

“It let you go,” Valkyrie said in disbelief. “I thought it was going to kill you.”

Loki clamped his eyes shut. There was a shallow scrape on his cheekbone from where he’d cut himself against a rock in his struggles. “Nightmare,” he said, voice cracking so much that she had to read his lips to fully understand him. “I - forgot.”

Oh. _Oh._ It hadn’t just been the trap getting a mind of its own, then. 

She neared him again as he unsteadily pushed himself up onto his knees, catching him when he almost fell over. He shivered against her, head dipped forward so she couldn’t see his face beyond the fall of his hair.

His voice was dull. Ruined. “I think that is enough rest for tonight.”

“It can’t be much longer, now,” she said, though of course she really couldn’t tell one way or the other. “Someone will have to stumble on us soon.”

He didn’t argue with her, or even give her a look, which was worrying. She’d been right - he was good enough at hiding his problems that they were only becoming obvious as he began to reach critical condition.

She moved in close, letting him take some ease in having her to balance against. He was still shaking, his throat working beneath the snare. He kept his hands down, though his fingers twitched with the urge to reach up and pull again.

For a few seconds, he did nothing but linger in that state of recovery. Then, she felt his long body lean against her, giving her a more substantial portion of his weight to bear. She didn’t know if he’d done it on purpose or if his strength was just running out.

The tremble of his limbs pressed into hers. “Are we giving up on digging, then?”

“I think I just about have the root system uncovered,” she said. “But if I touch any of it now, it’s going to kill you.”

“So it _would_ have been better for us to attempt more proactive measures earlier.”

“Just wait,” she said. “Let some of the bleeding slow. I’ll get back at it in a minute.”

Loki took in a few ragged breaths. She could smell copper on the air from his blood. “I’m going to die here,” he said, in so low a murmur she had to strain to hear it. 

“The hell you are,” she said, even if the words clashed against her own thoughts. “Your brother will tear the planet apart before he lets that happen. They’re going to find us, and we’ll get you back to the ship, and then _I_ get to kill you later for all the times you’ve pissed me off.”

He didn’t respond. 

She kept him propped up as the night stretched on.

\----------

The cover of night made the search more difficult. Thor found himself breaking through obstacles more than avoiding them, but Heimdall’s guidance was true.

“You have reached the place I last saw her,” Heimdall said. “I will watch you, but I can direct you no further.”

“I will find them,” Thor said, then called forth his power, allowing it to crackle along his skin and illuminate his surroundings as he took off like a shot.

He had taken all of five paces before he saw the glow of green in the distance. He sent a flash of a lightning bolt lurched up into the sky from his skin, throwing blazing white upon the ground. Two huddled figures knelt like shadows in the distance. One of them had been covered in blood.

Darkness fell again, but Thor leapt through the air towards the spot he had seen them. As he descended, his ears made a peculiar popping noise and something radiated through his skin. He landed in a crouch and there they were, Valkyrie and Loki.

Valkyrie stared at him with wide eyes, then let out a sharp curse. Loki raised half-lidded eyes towards him, looking dazed and bewildered, revealing his ravaged neck. Then, almost immediately and despite his injuries, Loki began to laugh. 

The sound sent warning signals down Thor’s back. “What happened? _Loki._ ” He stepped forward, intending to rip his brother free.

“Stop,” Valkyrie ordered. “Don’t touch it. Your brother stumbled upon some kind of ancient snare.”

Loki spoke between titters, the shine of tears in his eyes and his jagged smile reflecting the glow of whatever had grabbed him. “And now you are trapped in here with us. Just as I predicted.”

Thor frowned. “Trapped?” 

“There’s a barrier,” Valkyrie said, jerking her chin at their surroundings. “The trap catches one person, but leaves them mostly alive. Probably so they can be used as bait if anyone else happens upon them.”

“Don’t let him touch the flower,” Loki mumbled, no longer laughing. His head lolled forward, the rest of his body beginning to slump.

Thor moved forward in alarm, but Valkyrie delivered a firm slap to the side of Loki’s cheek, and he blinked repeatedly as he returned from whatever stupor he’d been fading into. “Stay with us,” she ordered, before turning back to Thor. “Where’s Hulk?”

“Hulk? I don’t know. He’s been searching for you all day, the same as I have.”

“Shit,” Valkyrie said. “Well, you’ll have to be good enough. See those petals?” She pointed to the areas where several holes had been carved out of the ground. “If any of us touches those, it’ll trigger the noose to start strangling Loki. Hulk destroyed the one near the ship’s landing site but it even took him a few minutes to get the thing demolished completely. When I tried, I couldn’t even damage its outermost layer.”

Thor scowled as he looked around them. “What is this place? Who would set this trap?”

“Don’t you feel it, brother?” Loki’s voice sounded distant. His gaze was still lowered, a startling dullness to his pallor. “Beneath the ground. The lure to the snare.”

 _Loki, you are not making any sense,_ was what Thor would have said, but he did feel it, _had_ been feeling it - the hum beneath the earth. He’d simply been too distracted and overwrought to take proper note of it before.

He turned his full attention on it now. It felt like...power. It reminded him of the Aether. Of Mjolnir. It was energy likened to some of the greatest treasures that had been held in Asgard’s vaults. 

Thor looked at the surrounding area with increased caution, before moving towards Loki. His brother’s gaze was hazy and his breaths laborious as Thor crouched before him.

Thor examined the visible evidence of Loki’s power, thin as a thread, trailing from his neck. “A trap that holds Asgardians,” he said.

Loki’s lips stretched in a blood-tinged grin. The sound that left him was an awful grating rasp.

“Why are you laughing?” Thor demanded.

Loki somehow managed the fortitude for a mocking glance despite his injuries. “Do you really...need me to answer that?”

Valkyrie was looking between them in confusion. “I don’t feel anything,” she said.

“You don’t use magic,” Loki said, his words slurring together. “It has no use to target you.”

“It’s tempting me,” Thor said. “Like a promise of power. Any invading force would be remiss in ignoring such a treasure.

“And it’s killing him slowly enough to catch as many victims as possible,” Valkyrie said in realization. “Dozens of soldiers could fit inside this barrier.”

“Another of Asgard’s wondrous legacies,” Loki said. 

“We don’t know that for sure,” Thor argued. “There’s no one here. If the traps were set for our people, how would they have been managed all this time? Who would have even put them here?”

“All excellent questions, brother.”

“What difference does any of that make?” Valkyrie asked. “They’re obviously not here. And even if they are, they obviously have cloaking technology. We might not see them unless we were close.”

“Also correct,” Loki said. His hands did an odd little spasm, fingers contorting as he grabbed at air. His expression remained flat, but his eyes when he looked at Thor were raw and nakedly desperate. “I was not...running.”

Thor frowned. 

“All right,” Loki said, giving a slow, arduous shrug. “Maybe I was considering it.”

Valkyrie shot Loki a glare, then rolled her eyes to the sky, face pinched with anger. “Of course you were.”

“You were trying to run in the middle of nowhere,” Thor said. “After _everything_ that’s happened?”

Loki’s throat worked, a grimace overtaking him as he attempted to swallow. “It did not particularly feel like you wanted me around.”

Thor brought their faces closer together, his frustration running hot. “How could it not? I have _asked_ for your help repeatedly in the last several days. _You_ were the one who decided to avoid me and draw my suspicion.”

“You thought I was tampering with the ship,” Loki said.

“How was avoiding me supposed to convince me that you weren’t?”

Loki’s lips curled into a snarl. “Why would I risk what little livelihood we have left?”

“I don’t know,” Thor said. “But it seems like that would be a good example of something that we could have _discussed._ Remember our talk about communication? It shouldn’t be the norm that you have to be bound for me to even speak with you!”

Loki blinked rapidly, mouth parting. His mask of blankness quickly returned, but his eyes were shining. “You told me I could be more,” he said. His throat worked and he flinched, fresh blood mixing in rivulets with all the rest. “I was working up the nerve to tell you.”

Thor inched closer. “Tell me what?”

Loki didn’t answer. He looked like he wanted to flee - but he was brutally stuck, exactly because he _had_ fled.

Thor was not going to let the opportunity go to waste. “Tell me _what?_ ”

“Later, Your Majesty,” Valkyrie said, her voice tense. “When we’re not stuck like flies in amber.”

Thor ground his jaw. “Later he is just going to run to avoid the subject again. Loki, _tell me what?_ ”

Loki breathed in once, then twice. His gaze flicked upwards, tongue darting out to wet his lips. “I took...the Tesseract.”

“Loki!” Thor gripped into his brother’s shoulder, fighting the urge to shake him. “It was meant to be destroyed with Asgard.”

Loki shook his head once. “It can’t be destroyed.”

“I think the Realm-destroying Fire Giant of prophecy would have succeeded.” Thor tightened his grip, his fury only ratcheting higher. “What are you planning on doing with it? What use could you have with such power?”

“You don’t understand.”

“That’s the whole point of me asking questions!”

“Thor,” Valkyrie snapped. “He’s going to end up dead before you get the answers you want.”

Thor’s glare turned on her, before an unhappy sigh rumbled in his chest. He sent Loki another angry glance, just so he would be very fully aware that their conversation was not over.

He rolled his shoulders as he got to his feet. “I will destroy the flower,” he said. 

Loki’s eyes widened. “No,” he croaked, trying to lurch forward to stop Thor. Valkyrie grabbed him to hold him back, and though he squirmed he didn’t have the strength to fight her. “You fool,” he hissed, chest heaving. “What if it decides to target you once I am dead?”

“It won’t be targeting anything once I rip it apart.”

“This isn’t a good idea,” Valkyrie said, but rather than attempting to stop him she only adjusted her grip more securely on Loki.

Thor carefully approached the flower. The parts exposed through the dirt were flush with enough bright color that they were visible even in the dark. He called forth his lightning, and the petals turned towards him like a plant seeking the sun. 

“ _Wait,_ ” Loki hissed. “ _Thor-_ I took the Tesseract because we may need its power!”

Thor shot Loki a look, and could find no deception on his face. He let the lightning fade, still suspicious. “Against what,” he asked. “And if it is ‘we’ then why are you the only person who knew about it?”

“I am not,” Loki said. There was a pause, the cagey look increasing. “I told Hulk.”

Thor gave a brief, bitter smile. “So what you’re trying to convince me of is that while you’ve been avoiding me, Hulk is your new confidant.”

“That actually checks out,” Valkyrie said, her expression one of surprise. “After our last meeting, when I went looking for him. He tried to sneak out of Hulk’s room without me knowing.”

Thor looked at Loki again. Loki swallowed, face pale. He’d been shivering since Thor had arrived but it seemed it was growing more pronounced as the minutes dragged on.

“What is this mysterious threat?”

“Thanos,” Loki gasped. “A Titan who commands vast armies. He - after I fell from Asgard, I was...offered a place, in his service.”

“I knew it,” Thor growled. “I knew you could not have been acting alone. Why didn’t you tell us?”

Loki didn’t answer. His breaths were growing alarmingly shallow.

Valkyrie, who had been looking increasingly uncomfortable during their exchange, finally spoke up again. “That part doesn’t matter,” she said. “What matters is what we’re going to do about it.”

“Which was my thought exactly,” Loki said.

She gave him a shake. “ _You_ don’t get to pretend the high ground on anything, not with putting our people at risk by running off. And what happens to the Tesseract when you die? Is it just going to pop back into existence?”

Loki flinched. “I wasn’t _planning_ on dying-”

“And yet here we are,” she said, with blunt certainty. “And now His Majesty, your brother, gets the honors of deciding if you go slow or _violently_ fast.”

Loki’s breath caught. He darted his gaze back to Thor in panic. 

“Valkyrie,” Thor said, thick with rebuke. 

“What? We’re all stuck here, airing out our feelings - well here’s mine. ” She let Loki go - though Thor noticed with a care that didn’t match her words. She stood up and approached him, a fire in her eyes. “His heart has been weakening. The magic being pulled from him is a thin thread compared to how it was the start of the night. I don’t even know how he’s still functioning as well as he is with how much blood he’s lost. Eventually we’ll have to consider what to do after he’s kicked it. But now, you get to choose if he’s going to be argued with until he inevitably passes out - or if we’re going to _act_ and possibly kill him and us by trying to take out that thing.”

Thor took in a few breaths in agitation as he tried to think. “You said it was a bad idea.”

“It is,” she said. “But we haven’t had many good ones since you asked me to fight an impossible war on Sakaar.”

There was a rustling of cloth as Loki slumped to the ground behind her. Thor jerked forward and heard Valkyrie curse as he rushed to his brother’s side. 

In the cord that held him, Loki’s magic was beginning to stutter, breaks of darkness between the threads of green light being forced from him. His gaze was unfocused, his breaths labored, and he stared at Thor like...like... 

Like prey caught in a snare, beset upon by a predator.

 _I thought we were beyond this,_ Thor wanted to say, a hint of angry despair in his thoughts. 

“You were wrong,” Loki said, voice blurry. He panted, as if even those words exhausted him. “I can’t. Not forever.”

“Can’t what?”

Loki’s eyelids fluttered. There was a glint of reflected light as a tear made its way down his face. “Be more.” He went limp.

Thor grabbed at his shoulders. “Loki? Loki!” He shook him, but he did not rouse, the fresh shine of new blood coming to his neck. “Valkyrie-”

“Decide, Thor,” she said. 

Thor ground his jaw, taking in a fortifying breath. He let go of Loki and rose to his feet, his eyes scanning the parts of the flower where the tether met its center. “Help me,” he said.

She nodded, pulling free her knives as she readied her stance. Thor brought his hands together, his fists crackling with lightning. He brought them down with such strength that the entire flower wobbled beneath them.

Valkyrie had stabbed down next to him but Thor was barely aware as he continued his attack, roaring, shockwaves reverberating through the ground at the sites of impact. He saw Loki’s magic being drained even more quickly, the breaks in between at first lessening with the speed and then growing greater, and _greater._

Thor’s arms were covered in some kind of pulp. He was damaging it. There was hope. Valkyrie helped him engage with the sites of the damage and when a shot of green burst out from the flower she managed to dodge it and continue to stab. The flower began to bubble and hiss as the lightning cooked its insides.

Thor brought his fists up, thunder crackling overhead. He brought them down, and the cord against Loki darkened, shriveling as it finally detached from his neck and lay still on the ground.

Thor immediately rushed to Loki, desperately checking his body as Valkyrie tore a piece of her cape free to firmly wrap about the gouges in his flesh.

A single, too-shallow breath filled Loki’s chest. “He’s alive,” Thor said, relief warring with his anxiety.

“He’s going to need help,” Valkyrie said. “The barrier’s down. The others should be able to see us.”

Thor clamped his eyes shut. “Heimdall-”

“He is already on his way,” Heimdall answered. “Send up a signal.”

Thor did not need to ask who he meant. He sent a bolt of lightning into the sky.

A loud roaring noise sounded in the distance. It was quickly followed by the deafening cracks of collapsing trees, growing closer and closer.

Hulk sprung from the shadows and into the clearing in a blast of air, his angry gleaming eyes setting upon them. “Friends hurt,” he said, taking in their appearances.

“We’re fine,” Thor said. “We need to get Loki back to the ship as quickly as possible.”

Hulk looked down at Loki, nostrils flaring as if he was scenting the air. He bared his teeth. “Hulk will carry.”

\----------

Loki’s throat was on fire, as well as what felt like every muscle and sinew in his body. He shivered and twitched intermittently, trapped in a half-aware state, unable to find the energy to pull himself entirely into consciousness. He could hear voices speaking around him, and felt the sparks of pain as his body gave convulsive jerks, but the fog around him was heavy.

He felt a warm hand at his face. It felt comforting. 

Then, as his mind finally caught up, it felt exactly the opposite of that.

His eyes flew open, and he jerked back, and then just as immediately dizzily reeled against the surface beneath him. The ache in his body brought free a staggered breath.

“Loki,” Thor said, and though there was frustration in his tone his voice was too soft for true anger. “Can you spend even a moment conscious without trying to run from me?”

Loki kept quiet - his throat was such that he did not want to find out what it would be like to speak through his injuries. 

“Here,” Thor said. He brought forth a metal capsule. “Fresh water, from the mystery planet that nearly killed us.”

Loki did feel thirsty. Somehow, he managed to drink past his raw throat without sending himself into a convulsive coughing fit, but it was a near thing. 

Thor set the water aside. He stared down at Loki. “So, I understand we’ll be needing to have a talk or two at some point in the near future.”

Loki did make a noise at that. 

“I’m not seeking to punish you, I promise,” Thor said. “And I’m not angry. Not as angry,” he amended. “You were...right. I might have intended it but I haven’t exactly clearly presented my efforts to be especially welcoming, considering everything that’s happened. I’m sorry.”

Thor could not have shocked Loki more than if he had grown a second head. 

“From now on, I will restrict my fury to after you are actually found guilty of a crime. Not that I’m expecting any crimes.” Thor folded his arms. “I do, however, reserve the right for rage if you ever decide to act alone and _again_ get yourself into a situation that is likely to end up with you dead.”

 _Little chance of that,_ Loki thought, but even privately the words did not hold as much certainty as he would have liked. 

“The Statesman has returned to its chartered course,” Thor said. “Unless something else breaks, we should be able to travel for a good few months before we need to resupply.”

Loki’s hands twitched. He gave a slight nod, feeling no loss about their future lack of planetary visits. 

“Did you know?” Thor asked.

Loki frowned. 

“Of our planet’s true history. I know we were always told about the wars and great battles that father undertook, but looking back on Hela…” Thor leaned forward, as if the additional proximity would make him be better heard. “What I am saying, Loki, is that you’ve already proven yourself to be more.”

“Did I?” It was nearly excruciating for him to speak, but he did not think he could stay in silence any longer. 

“Yes,” Thor said definitively. “And if you’re wondering, Hulk and the Sakaarians searched the immediate area around our landing site. They found more of the flowers. They hadn’t reacted to any of our people, and no one except Heimdall and I could sense them. I considered continuing to search for any sign of what had come before, but…” Thor shook his head. “We’ll leave it behind. It’s better not to risk any further attacks.”

“Agreed,” Loki said. “Thor, I - the Tesseract-”

“You’re keeping it safe,” Thor said. He reached for Loki’s shoulder. “You’re going to use it to keep _yourself_ safe. As my brother. Whatever happens. I am not going to lead Asgard without you.”

Loki stared back. _Run,_ his thoughts clamored. _Deflect. You cannot live up to his expectations any more than you could satisfy Odin’s._

He gave a hesitant nod.

Thor smiled. “I expect this to be one of many many _many_ future discussions.”

Loki was sure his answering wince was obvious.

\----------

Valkyrie grit her teeth in exasperation as she tried to apply even pressure to the fresh bandage she was winding around Loki’s neck. “You know, this would be much easier if you would just stop flinching.”

His gaze was full of loathing of a surprising strength. Coupled with the fact that he was actually sitting up on the bed on his own, she concluded that he was definitely feeling a lot more perky than he’d been the last couple of days. 

“It would be even easier if your idea of medical care did not inflict as many injuries as it helped,” he said.

“Tough,” she said. “I’m not a healer, this is what you’re getting.”

Loki cursed as she gave another tug. “Where is Heimdall?”

“Busy taking over your duties while you’re laid up. Let me see your hands.”

He didn’t look happy, but he relented. Some of the deeper gashes were yet unhealed, open and raw with the flimsiest of coatings for protection - having so much of his magic drawn out of him had plunged his normal healing rates. Still, there was some good progress to be found in the lesser injuries. 

“Any spells yet?”

“What concern is that of yours?”

“It’s not,” she said. “Which is why I won’t mind knocking you around a bit if you don’t just take the two seconds needed to answer.”

His expression pinched in wariness, shoulders already hunching up in preparation of a blow. “Not as such,” he said. 

She let his hands go, checking over the cut on his cheek next. “And still the rates of things breaking down on this heap of metal stay as steady as ever. Which means there’s a strong case for your lack of involvement all the other times.”

His eye twitched. “Are you quite finished?”

“Yep,” she said, backing up a step. “All done here, Your Highness.”

He sighed and rose to his feet. He was a bit slow, but not unsteady. “I suppose I should offer you a drink.”

“A drink would really hit the spot about now,” she said, ignoring the bland look he leveled her way. “Go on, impress me. I should get things in here set up, anyway.” She started to move the furniture around, grabbing what chairs there were to place them in a semi-circle near the bed.

He stared at her, glass in hand. “Set things up for what?”

“Thor didn’t tell you? We’re having all of our meetings in here, now, until you’re back on your feet. Well, walking around on your feet for more than five minutes at a time, anyway.”

Loki stared at her, aghast, before a loud knock nearly startled him badly enough to drop the drink. The door opened for Hulk, who wedged his way in and then stood frowning in the middle of the room.

“There he is,” Valkyrie greeted. “Now we just have to wait for Heimdall and your brother.”

“Do we?” Loki asked in bemusement.

“We’re here,” Thor said, tone jovial as he entered. He immediately zeroed in on Loki’s hand. “Oh, you’ve made me a drink. How thoughtful of you, Loki.”

Loki made noise in his throat, absently allowing Thor to take the glass from him. “What is happening?” 

“We’ve come to listen to your plan,” Heimdall said, hands resting on the hilt of his sword. “In our future dealings with the threat that may seek to harm you.”

“And our people,” Valkyrie said. 

“Boring,” Hulk said. He gestured at Loki. “Talk about plan for Hulk smash again.”

Loki looked even more alarmed. He rubbed at the edge of his neck bandage. “I…” He took a breath. “All right.” He moved to the bar and quickly made a second drink for Valkyrie. She blinked in surprise as he handed it over. His gaze when he met hers was one of solid determination. 

“Here’s what we’re going to do.”


End file.
